Remember when we watched Bugs Bunny as a kid and Marvin the Martian appeared on an episode? Remember what joy Bugs and company brought to us when they came to save the day? And the best episode? Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½ Century brought about during the reboot of Buck Rogers in the 25^th Century in 1979.

So now, they are doing a new reboot of Buck Rogers with George Clooney on Netflix. I don’t know about this. I loved the old comic book stories about this iconic spaceman protagonist. And when they created a series in 1979, the version was campy and didn’t do justice to the imagination of us older kids. If we wanted campy, we would just go watch Bugs Bunny. The Buck Rogers comic strip first appeared in 1929, and was created by writer Philip Nowlan and cartoonist Dick Calkins. Nowlan debuted the character of Anthony (“Buck”) Rogers in Armageddon: 2419 A.D. (1928–29), which was serialized in Amazing Stories, a magazine I subscribed to for years. It was the first magazine that popularized serious science fiction stories. And to a lay audience, the strip introduced and popularized such science-fiction paraphernalia and concepts as ray guns, robots, and rocket ships that previously had been written about only in pulp magazines. The comic strip was first titled Buck Rogers in the Year 2429 A.D. It was renamed Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and in the earliest film production (1939), it was changed to Buck Rogers.

Honestly, I think we should leave these campy reboots behind because now is the time to regale science fiction with more sincerity and respect to the genre. Now is the time to create beautiful new stories and movies based on the greats such as Poul Anderson, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Ben Bova, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn (he came later to the party, but I love, love, love his vision and writing). The many things we all lived through in our lifetime, as well as my parents’ lifetimes, came out as cautionary tales for the future in these writers’ books. But their stories also created a more positive outlook for our future. Their stories can be re-told now, but only if screenwriters and directors have actually read the books and interpret them how they were meant to be interpreted (Hear me Disney, Hulu, and Netflix and other streaming media!). They can be adapted in much better films if you have the right voice. We don’t need more hilarity or horror in space. We need positive experiences and outcomes that will help us know that our children might just survive off planet in the future. We want outcomes where they find a better world than what we have created for them on this planet.

I just bought and began re-reading Poul Anderson’s three-volume set of The Psychotechnic League on my Kindle app (I have the originals in paperback) because my story line for the final Caitlin Ferguson novel sparked a memory of the messages from these books. They took me in the direction I needed to go. The joy of remembering his stories brought me such clarity as to how I am ending this series. So, a little science fiction in our lives is a good thing. It sparks memories of the past and enhances choices of what we will be making in our future for survival.

My thoughts for all of you out there: Enjoy a little science fiction in your lives and contemplate the future in a unique way. (I have sooooo many more suggestions for your reading list!) Get beyond your earthly trips and seriously think about all that our kids will be able to see and enjoy in their futures.

Watch and laugh at the Marvin the Martian characters but know that the many true rocket scientists and engineers are attempting to find a way for all our children to survive off planet. Even if we don’t personally get to go, I will be there applauding the future generation!

For more entertainment featuring Marvin the Martian and Duck Dodgers, you can tune in on YouTube and see the best of the best:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT5zcmLeRLo

Merry Christmas everyone! Little Jewels says Hi to all Y’all!